


Varmint

by ChildishSadism



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Coming Out, M/M, Slice of Life, bottom Vanitas, he is just a confused boy, new life new me, somewhat perverted ventus but not really, top ventus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-06 23:15:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17949029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChildishSadism/pseuds/ChildishSadism
Summary: High School was an awkward time of life as it was and Ventus just wanted to leave his past life behind. He wanted to start fresh and focus on his new happiness. He wanted to find a way to like himself as much as he wished he did. It was time to move on and start a new life in college, but the guilt from his past actions was keeping him from moving on, and now he has to figure out a way to talk to Vanitas again while ignoring the crush he himself doesn't realize he has on him.Meanwhile, Vanitas just wants to know why the hell Sora's friend won't stop staring at him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heeeeeeeeey! 
> 
> What's up, how's it going? idk, I'm having jack in the box and honestly, I could be doing better but whatever. 
> 
> So this fic is Ven/Vani, and um, I just wanted to keep it chill and real. Kinda. I mean, as real as it can get with these fuckers in college when Sora can't even count to 3 and Vanitas looks like he lives under a bridge. 
> 
> The tags will probably change later on and stuff. I'm trying to keep this fic kinda short, so hopefully, it won't go above 4 chapters. 
> 
> Warnings: my grammar, and like sorry for that.
> 
> Tumblr: https://demnocts.tumblr.com/ come talk to me about Vani and Ven and their stupid relationship plz c:

Girls looked really soft.  
  
It was odd how their skin just looked so tender. The way their curves would mold to their bodies was very attractive and it made it so easy for your eyes to follow. Their legs, even if they were short, looked appealing and interesting to touch. The round thighs were tempting and the skin looked delicate enough to dip underneath someone’s hand.  
  
Ventus watched from his spot on the floor as the girls in front of him ran to get the basketball ball that was bouncing away. Some of the girls had rolled up the waistband of their shorts, making it so their gym clothes were shorter. Their shirt had a knot on the side, making it tighter around their waist and chest. If they lifted their arms their whole stomach was exposed and it was somewhat hard to ignore it.  
  
One of the girls was stretching her arms above her head, exposing her belly button while the tight shorts were digging against the skin of her thighs. She stretched her legs next and lightly shook her head, her long brown hair was tied in a ponytail and a few loose strands were clinging to the sweat on her neck and face.  
  
Even with the thick layers of sweat. She still looked soft.  
  
Even if she was sweaty, she probably still had a nice smell.  
  
Ventus turned his head to the side, and his eyes moved to the other side of the gym where another crowd was playing volleyball.  
  
Boys didn’t necessarily look very appealing.  
  
Sometimes their skin looked very ashy or rough, and sometimes it looked like as if they hadn’t taken a shower in a couple of days. They didn’t have any prominent curves. In fact, some of them were flat and looked like boring squares. But there was something also very different about boys.  
  
Ventus tilted his head as the boys jumped to hit the ball, their shirts riding up and exposing their flat stomachs while showing their boxers as well. Some boys were wearing regular boxers, while others had boxers briefs on. They had only a slight curve on their waist and it only became visible when they stretched like this. Their arms were longer and for some reason looked more appealing. Even if the boys in front of him were not ripped or had a lot of muscle, their arms still had a nice shape.  
  
Girl’s thighs were round and soft, followed by their hips, but boy’s thighs were slimmer, yet, they seem to flow better with the rest of their body, making their legs look longer even if they were short.  
  
One of the boys was sweating and panting, and not before long he was using his shirt to wipe the sweat off of his face. Ventus watched as the guy lifted the bottom of his shirt, revealing his stomach and part of his chest. He stretched just like the girl did, but it was different, it looked more relaxed and as if his body was a bit looser.  
  
It was odd, but watching boys sweat was just more captivating for Ventus. He could have been playing but he didn’t feel like it. Not today. It was raining non-stop outside, which meant their gym class ended up being inside instead. It was only in bad weather days like these that the girls and the boys were in the same class and yet they weren’t allowed to play together. It was outdated rules, but no one felt like arguing with the teachers.  
  
Ventus leaned back against the wall behind him and glanced over at the person sitting next to him. Roxas was typing away on his phone. He was hiding it behind one of the big yoga balls, making it look as if he was just using it for support. Of course, Ventus was the second part of his shield and his body was blocking his brother’s cellphone. Xion was reading a book next to Roxas, not caring much about what was going on at the moment.  
  
The rest of Ventus’ friends were already doing something productive instead of being lazy like them. Sora was playing volleyball with Riku and Axel, while Kairi and Namine were playing basketball.  
  
It wasn’t like Ventus was lazy, he just wasn’t in the mood to do anything. He felt like people watching, well, more than that. He just wanted to understand himself.  
  
Ventus sighed quietly and looked around him once more. He hadn’t noticed that someone was sitting on his right, well, more like they were laying down. There was a boy a few feet away from him that was laying down on the cold floor with one of his arms behind his head. There was a towel on top of their face and judging by their breathing, they seemed to be asleep.  
  
Ventus let his eyes move on their own again and he noticed how the boy’s shorts were clinging more to his legs since he was laying down. He noticed the shape of his thighs and legs and how long they looked. He let his eyes move to the boy’s waist and saw how the shorts were rolled up once as the girls would wear them. The black boxer briefs had a brand name plastered all over the waistband and they were hugging a narrow waist. The boy’s free hand was resting on top of his stomach but underneath his shirt, giving Ventus more of a view of the flat stomach underneath that was slowly rising and falling with the even breathing.  
  
Ventus couldn’t bring himself to look away, even when the hand moved upwards just to pull more of the shirt and almost reveal the boy’s chest.  
  
He couldn’t look away until he felt someone staring at him.  
  
Ventus blinked a couple of times and his eyes quickly looked up when he felt the stare. A pair of yellow eyes were staring back at him, and they belonged to the boy he had been staring at this whole time. The boy was directly looking at him, with half of his face still hidden underneath the towel that had been blocking his face before.  
  
Ventus was so stupid. He should have noticed who it was, especially when he finally realized the boy’s nails were painted black. It was Vanitas, from all people, he ended up staring at Sora’s brother. He could feel his face heating up, even if he tried to keep a neutral expression. Maybe he could play it off as an accident. Or maybe he could act as if he had been staring at something else, like the girls sitting on the other side of the wall.  
  
“Creep,”  
  
The word hit Ventus too hard. He blushed instantly and quickly looked away from Vanitas to stare at his feet. He couldn’t play it off anymore, that word was all he needed to know that Vanitas knew how Ventus had been staring at his body this whole time. How long did he even do it for? He had been so sure Vanitas was asleep that he didn’t bother to break eye contact at all.  
  
He wanted to say something, anything, to at least apologize but before Ventus could open his mouth there was a loud whistle coming from the locker's rooms. The gym teacher was yelling at them to go change and get ready for their next class.  
  
Ventus looked back and Vanitas was already standing up. He was fixing his shirt and easily caught Ventus’ stare at with his own. He didn’t say anything else, instead, he just walked over to the lockers, leaving a very flustered and guilty Ventus behind.  
  


* * *

  
  
  
It wasn’t as if every teenager was born with a guide of how to find out your sexuality. Ventus knew this one for sure. No amount of Google, or blogs or random twitter threats really helped much. It was a confusing stage of life and something he was still struggling with. It wasn’t easy to accept that you were different from the norm, especially when most of society tries really hard to try to make you blend in with everyone else.  
  
It was difficult to argue with yourself, but Ventus at some point couldn’t deny it anymore. He tried really hard to be interested in girls, after all, they were cute and looked softer than boys. But he was not interested in that at all. He didn’t find soft, curves attractive. A woman’s hips as wide and nice as they were, didn’t feel right. It was more often than not then Ventus thought about a guy’s waist instead and how his hands would look gripping one.  
  
The over-hyped of breasts was not interesting to him. He didn’t find a girl’s tits any different from the rest of their body and yet, he couldn’t deny that a guy’s chest was far more interesting to look at. He liked wider shoulders instead of slimmer ones and he found himself staring at a man’s ass more so than a girl’s.  
  
Ventus realized all of this about himself when he was in high school and yet he still wasn’t acting out on his attraction towards men. It was hard to explain why, but he also couldn’t forget the incident with a certain boy during high school. It wasn’t like he ended up having to deal with a teacher or any of the sort. It was just something that still couldn’t leave his mind, even now that he was staring his first year of community college, he couldn’t let it go.  
  
Ventus sighed quietly and leaned back against his seat. He looked over at Roxas and watched as he texted away just like always did. Except for this time, he was driving and Ventus wasn’t sure if he was ready to die or not. He rolled his eyes and snatched his brother’s phone out of his hands.  
  
“Hey!” Roxas glared at Ventus and then forced himself to look back at the road.  
  
“You said you wanted to drive, I offered and you ignored me. So don’t text and drive,” Ventus dropped Roxas’ phone in the back seat, ignoring the glare his brother was giving him.  
  
“We are on a slow street Ventus, I doubt we can die when we are going 30mph,”  
  
“Yeah, but you can’t trust other drivers, what if they are not going at that speed and then fuck us up,”  
  
“Whatever,” Roxas mumbled and started to mess with the radio instead.  
  
Ventus went back to staring at the passing streets. He couldn’t believe he was already done with high school, it felt like it was just yesterday when he first joined his art club and failed his first math test. It was two years ago that he spent his days trying to compare boys and girls and find excuses as to why he should like girls more than a guy, but that didn’t turn out how he thought it would.  
  
“Roxas,” Ventus said with a serious tone in his voice. He turned to face his twin and lightly leaned in so he was in Roxas’ field of vision while not making him look away from the road. “I’m gay.”  
  
Roxas just confusingly glanced over at Ventus. He had an awkward look on his face that was a mixture of confusion and doubt. “Um, okay?”  
  
It wasn’t like Ventus expected a huge reaction out of his twin, but seeing him just acting confused over the sudden confession was relieving and funny. Ventus chuckled quietly and leaned back against his seat with his fingers tapping against his knees.  
  
“Just wanted to let you know,”  
  
“Ventus, whatever you wanna suck dick or eat pussy I really don’t wanna think about you doing neither of those,” Roxas shuddered and winced. “It’s there a reason why you suddenly wanted to tell me this?”  
  
Roxas was more confused than anything else right now. Ventus always seemed to avoid talking about sex, or even what he is attracted to. It wasn’t long before Roxas figured it out it was because Ventus seemed to have a thing for guys more so than girls, which wasn’t really that big of a shocker for him. The majority of his friends were very open about their sexuality and Roxas himself was bi, but Ventus seemed to have a harder time figuring out himself and there was nothing wrong with that, he was just wondering why Ventus decided to just spit it out now.  
  
“You know, we’re starting college and I just feel like I needed to like, let it out,” Ventus couldn’t really form into words how relieved he was now that he openly told someone. He couldn’t explain to Roxas how he just felt lighter and happier. It made no sense but just telling his brother something that Roxas probably already knew but Ventus have never mentioned, felt as if he was finally accepting who he was.  
  
“Like, a new chapter in life?” Roxas asked as he looked through the rows of parked cars to try to find a spot.  
  
“Yeah, sort of. I think is time to start liking myself a bit more than I do now,” Ventus smiled at his brother and started to look around for a parking spot as well.  
  
“And you couldn’t tell me this morning during breakfast? Or like, last night when you were passing out on the couch? You had to pick the drive to college?” Roxas couldn’t help himself but laugh quietly. It was a very awkward coming out talk, but it was also very Ventus as well. He wasn’t one for serious or formal things, and he only ever did things when he felt they were right.  
  
“I mean, we are locked in, in a metal box with your phone out of your reach. How else am I supposed to get your attention?”  
  
“By saying hey Roxas, I wanna talk to you because I wanna let you know that dick is good?” Roxas said trying to hold back a laugh. He finally found a parking spot and reversed into it.  
  
“What’s the fun in that?” Ventus snickered and reached back to grab his bag and get Roxas’ phone.  
  
“Yeah, I guess having somewhat deep conversations in the car is fun,” Roxas let out a heavy sigh and then smirked when Ventus shoved him as he was getting out. He got his backpack from the backseat and caught his phone just in time as Ventus was tossing it at him.  
  
“Whatever, we can’t all just come out by dating a girl and then a boy and then shrugging when asked about it,” Ventus got out of the car and slipped his messenger bag over his shoulder.  
  
“It worked tho, didn’t it?” Roxas grinned and followed behind Ventus.  
  
“Except dad was confused as hell and didn’t know how to ask any questions,” Ventus chuckled at the memory and shook his head. It had been a wild night for the two of them.  
  
Ventus finally took the time to look around his college campus. The large open areas and separated buildings were very different from regular public schools. The multiple benches were all already occupied by students reading a book or typing away on their laptops or tablets. It wasn’t the same for everyone though, some students were just sitting around talking, waiting for their next class to start.  
  
It was then that Ventus noticed a familiar face. Sora was chatting away with Riku and moving his hands around as if he was trying to explain something that was probably not complicated but Sora was making it so. Riku was just listening, nodding his head here and there with a smile on his face. Sora’s eyes caught Ventus and he was quickly jumping on his feet and waving at them.  
  
“Oh look, sunshine boy already found us,” Roxas rolled his eyes and waved back.  
  
“As if he could miss us,” Ventus added and followed Roxas to the bench that Sora was using with Riku.  
  
“I didn’t know you guys had morning classes!” Sora said as he made way for the two to sit down.  
  
“Sora, we sent you our schedule, twice,” Roxas shook his head and dropped his backpack on the ground.  
  
“You expect Sora to remember that? How bold of you,” Riku said and then smirked when Sora turned to him with a glare.  
  
“He was the one that was asking about it for days!” Ventus sighed quietly and shook his head as well but he couldn’t help the smile that was slowly spreading across his face.  
  
“I forgot! I even have it saved in my pictures I swear,” Sora got his phone out and quickly looked through his folders, but after a minute or two, he was sulking on the bench. “M-maybe I did forget to save them,”  
  
“Maybe? Or you did forget to save them?” Riku asked and leaned his cheek against his hand with a smirk.  
  
“I mean, I didn’t expect you to remember honestly, so I guess we got lucky and met you guys before class,” Roxas shrugged, not at all bothered by it. It wasn’t like they weren’t used to Sora and his ways.  
  
“Yeah, Sora has another class in an hour and I don’t have classes again until the afternoon,” Riku added and then looked in between Roxas and Ventus, “How about you guys?”  
  
“My class starts in about twenty minutes and Roxas has to wait for an hour too,” Ventus answered, trying to remember his brother’s schedule as much as his own. “Then Roxas has a class with a lab so I have to wait for him for like one hour before we are done for the day. We only got two classes each. Well, today that is.”  
  
“Sounds good, I guess Sora can chill with Roxas and I can go home then,” Riku said but before he could stand up and attempt to leave, Sora was already clinging to his arm and shaking his head.  
  
“Don’t go yeeeet! I didn’t get to hang out with you all summer because of your stupid vacation,” Sora huffed and didn’t release his hold on Riku.  
  
It was how Sora picked up on his previous conversation, in which he was trying to tell Riku about all the crazy things that happened to him during the summer. Ventus, of course, knew everything that was going on since one way or the other the same group of friends always ended up getting involved, even if sometimes it made no sense as to why they were doing what they had set up to do.  
  
Ventus smiled lazily as he listened to Sora retell their adventures during the summer. Roxas was listening but he was typing on his phone again and then turning around to snap a picture of the four as Sora kept talking. Ventus had just enough time to smile at the camera before Roxas was turning back around and typing something. It wasn’t at all a surprise when Ventus heard his phone buzzing in his pocket. It was probably a notification from Roxas tagging him on his picture.  
  
“...And then Vanitas had to pick us up. I don’t think I have ever seen him be that pissed,” Sora laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.  
  
Ventus attention was drawn back to the conversation at the mention of Sora’s brother. Sora was probably talking about the time they all got caught by the mall security for trying to record silly videos that had been Roxas’ and Sora’s idea. They didn’t think things were going to get that serious but as it turned out they all ended up in a small room in the back of the mall with one police officer watching them.  
  
Vanitas had to be the one to pick them up, and he ended up lying to the cops about how their parents were on vacation on a cruise and he was responsible for the bunch. He ended up promising the police officers that he wouldn’t let them near the mall during the whole summer break if they let them go. Nonetheless, to say, it did work and they couldn’t go to the mall during their whole vacation.  
  
Ventus could still remember how Vanitas was glaring at all of them through the rearview mirror as he drove them back to their house. Sora tried to open his mouth once or twice to say something, but he was quick to shut it the moment Vanitas even lifted one of his fingers to get him to stop. By the time they made it to Sora’s house, they all had to wait for their parents to pick them up since they ended up taking the bus together to the mall. Vanitas wasted no time to drag Sora to the kitchen and after some shouting and a few angry whispers, Sora came back at the edge of tears.  
  
Ventus however, couldn’t forget how Vanitas’ eyes almost seemed to glow whenever he was upset. The yellow orbs were just so frustrated and filled with anger that he wasn’t sure how the hell Vanitas was able to keep it all in and not explode. Well, he did end up giving Sora a piece of his mind but he was mostly polite to the rest of them, except Roxas because he knew damn well he was the one that plotted with Sora.  
  
Ventus couldn’t say anything. He could only sit there and stare at Vanitas as he waited for his dad to come and pick them up. He kept trying to look away but once in a while he just ended up glancing back at Vanitas and eventually, Vanitas caught onto him and stared back at Ventus. He narrowed his eyes and glared at Ventus and it should have been threatening and scary, but Ventus couldn’t help himself but notice the way Vanitas’ nose twitched a tiny bit and the way his mouth twisted into a frown.  
  
It was cute.  
  
Ventus wanted to slap himself for thinking that but he couldn’t help his brain from moving forward and blasting through his gay heart. Vanitas wasn’t as entertained, and he stood up and dug his hands inside his pockets as he leaned in to stare at Ventus at eye level.  
  
“Quit staring at me, creep,” That was all Vanitas said before he walked away.  
  
It wasn’t a surprise when Ventus heard it. He only wished he could finally explain things to Vanitas properly. It was something that was still eating him alive with guilt but he couldn’t help it. He just got so nervous when it came to talking to Vanitas, he was intimidating and if he wasn’t interested in talking to you he had a thing for just walking away or just staring at you without saying even one single word. He was someone very hard to deal with and his type of personality wasn’t something Ventus had that much experience with. It was probably why even though he was Sora’s brother, he could count in one hand how many times he actually spoke to him.  
  
Ventus sighed quietly and rubbed his face with both hands. He needed to stop feeling sorry for himself and actually do something about what happened back in high school. It was a new chapter in his life. He needed to move on from the past and start living in the future and if that meant facing Vanitas then so be it. He just wanted to explain himself. There was no doubt that back then he did end up staring at Vanitas with the intention of ogling his body, but he was a stupid kid that was confused and was still arguing with himself all the time. He kept staring at boys and girls, hoping to finally find a solution to who he was. But after he realized the truth, he outgrew that habit and now felt nothing but guilt and regret.  
  
Ventus wanted to make things right. He wanted to apologize and to stop Vanitas from thinking the way he did about him.  
  
“Hey, Sora,” Ventus didn’t even realize he interrupted Sora’s and Riku’s conversation. He was so caught up with his thoughts that he didn’t have time to process anything else. “Is your brother in this college too?”  
  
“Vanitas?” Sora looked a bit confused at the sudden question. “Yeah, but most of his classes are online. He only has like one regular class. Why?”  
  
Ventus frowned and ran one of his hands through his hair. This just couldn’t be easy, right?  
  
“I kind of need to talk to him,” Ventus said with a weak smile.  
  
“Really? Why? He only knows how to grunt or growl, unless he’s playing games,” Sora snickered quietly and leaned in on the table, now looking a lot more curious.  
  
“Just, have some stuff to clear out, it isn’t anything big,” Ventus really didn’t want to give out any details. It was far too embarrassing.  
  
“Oh! Does it have to do with the whole mall thing,” Sora grinned, his eyes lighting up as he supposedly figured out why Ventus was interested in Vanitas.  
  
Ventus was going to take whatever he could get. “Yeah, actually, it has to do with that.”  
  
“Well, I’m sure we all kind of owe him an apology,” Sora nodded and leaned his head against his hand, trying to remember Vanitas’ schedule. “I think he should be done with his streaming by six, so maybe come around at 7? You should totally bring him fruit roll-ups, he fucking devours those. A great apology gift.”  
  
“Thank you, Sora. I’ll keep that in mind,” Ventus smiled.  
  
Now he only needed to figure out how to talk to Vanitas. Hopefully, his new found strength could help him out a tiny bit. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, fish sticks are legit amazing and I wish I had another box.
> 
> Warnings: My grammar cuz is shit and my English is shit. 
> 
> tumblr: https://demnocts.tumblr.com/ come talk to me about vani, the cutest edgy boy there is.

Ventus had been to Sora’s house many times in the past. He practically lived there when he wasn’t home. It didn’t help at all that Sora pretty much made it everyone’s hangout spot, if there was a party to celebrate Sora was quick to offer their house if they were planning a sleepover, Sora was already picking where everyone was going to sleep in his living room and guest bedrooms. It wasn’t rare when Ventus and Roxas ended up spending a couple of days in Sora’s house just to hang out and play video games until stupid hours of the night.  
  
It was a home away from home. It made no sense for Ventus to be nervous and almost terrified to be in Sora’s house now. The thing was that just like in every other house, there were some things that were forbidden or just not typically polite to look through. Ventus wasn’t supposed to go through his dad’s closet and his bottom drawers for personal reasons, he was told this when he was a child and he still obeyed those rules. Roxas told him to never go inside his room when he wasn’t there and Ventus followed his brother’s rule as well. When he first visited Sora’s home, he was told not to go to the hallway on the left, reason being was that Vanita’s room was on that side of the house, along with his bathroom.  
  
Sora’s house was huge, it was pretty much the biggest house Ventus had ever been to. You could easily tell his parents were working hard to pay the bills and this big house. The first time Ventus visited he got lost, the second floor was somewhat confusing when it divided into three separate hallways that led to either Sora’s side of the house, his parent’s side of the house or Vanitas’ side.  
  
At least he didn’t end up wandering into Vanitas’ room. That would have been a catastrophe.  
  
Ventus had always been told not to use the hallway on the left and yet he was standing on that same hallway that he hadn’t been allowed to even get near for the past eight years of his life. He could remember being ten years old when he first glanced at the hallway, watching as a boy that looked a lot like Sora peeked out of his room. Vanitas never really spoke to them, he would motion Sora to come over, whisper something on his ear before closing the door. Sora would then run back to tell them that they were being too loud and to please lower their volume.  
  
Now, Ventus had Sora’s permission to be in this hallway but they weren’t ten years old anymore. Even with Sora’s permission as an excuse, he couldn’t really make a good argument as to why he was in Vanitas’ side of the house. Well, he had a very good reason but he still couldn’t bring himself to take a step forward.  
  
Ventus arrived at Sora’s house a little over twenty minutes ago. He got out of the car with Roxas tagging along and looking at Ventus questionably when he got a box of fruit roll-ups from the back seat.  
  
Sora was already opening the door for them before they even had a chance to get to it. He was grinning from ear to ear and a very lazy looking Riku was leaning against the door frame.  
  
“You guys took forever!” Sora whined as he let them in and closed the door behind him.  
  
“Ventus had to stop by the store to get something and he also drives like a grandpa soooo, not my fault,” Roxas shrugged and snickered when Ventus shoved him to the side.  
  
“I do not drive like a grandpa and I had to buy the tribute,” Ventus held the box of fruit roll-ups in front of him and lightly shook it as if to make a point.  
  
“Tribute?” Riku raised one of his brows and looked in between Ventus and Sora.  
  
“Oh yeah, a tribute to the king of 0 to 100. My dear, beloved, patient and sweet brother,” Sora answered as he dramatically leaned against Riku. “You know, he is such a patient and extremely caring person, so loving and full of happiness that we just gotta feed him sugar in order for us to feel better about our “wasteful existence” as he likes to say.”  
  
Riku narrowed his eyes. “What did you do to piss him off this time?”  
  
Sora gasped, leaning back as if Riku had just insulted his father. “Me? Nothing. You were with us this morning! Ven just wants to say sorry for the fuck up we did during the summer.”  
  
“Yeah, I dunno why,” Roxas added this time. “He had nothing to do with it and I already bought him a game as a sorry gift.”  
  
“He said you were forgiven by the way,” Sora said with a thumbs up.  
  
“Maybe because I have a conscious, duh?” Ventus quickly answered trying to avoid people questioning his motives. “You got him the game but I was too chicken to even come with you and say sorry, I just want to do things right.”  
  
“Yeah, he’s trying to do this whole new life thing,” Roxas blurted out before Ventus could even stop him.  
  
“OH! Because we are in college now?” Sora asked excitedly as he looked in between Ventus and Roxas before turning to look at Riku. “Maybe I should do the same too! Give myself a goal!”  
  
“Sora, you can’t even wake up by the tenth alarm in your phone,” Riku shook his head and sighed.  
  
“Yeah, but I can try this time with something else, like-”  
  
“Uh, Sora, before you plot your next achievement, can I just...get this over with,” Ventus mumbled the last part with a slight blush on his face. He was holding the box of roll-ups in front of him and lightly shaking it as if to bring back everyone’s attention to the actual topic at hand.  
  
“Oh yeah! Uh, Vanitas is still locked up in his room but I just ordered pizza to lure him out,” Sora knew for a fact Vanitas wasn’t going to be walking around the house if his friends were over, but if there was food and he was hungry, he was going to eventually have to crawl out of his cave. “So I have a plan! Ventus will go up to his room to bring him out, then he’ll give him the first offering. After that, he’ll let him know about the second offering and then we can all apologize.”  
  
It was a plan that made absolutely no sense, at least for Ventus. It made no sense because why did he had to go get Vanitas. Sora knew he didn’t know his brother that well and he also knew how they had never been allowed near his room.  
  
It was how Ventus ended up hugging the box of fruit roll-ups near his chest as he nervously made his way to Vanitas room.  
  
“Just knock, say you need to talk and go from there...just knock, say you want to talk and go from there,” Ventus kept repeating the same thing over and over again in his head. Even when he stood in front of Vanitas’ door.  
  
Ventus took a deep breath and with trembling hands knocked on the door.  
  
There was no answer.  
  
He knocked again, this time a bit louder but there was no answer again.  
  
Ventus had been so nervous that he didn’t hear the noises coming from the room. Not until now that he was able to focus on something else besides his heart pounding against his chest. He leaned closer to the door and heard Vanitas’ voice.  
  
“I’m just going to assume you’re blind...are you kidding me?...the reason why you can’t aim is cuz you’re a lesbian, lesbians can’t aim….Larxene I swear to go if you don’t trade that sniper rifle, I’ll personally shot you on the ankle and watch you crawl….I WANT IT BECAUSE YOU CAN’T AIM!...”  
  
Ventus had to muffle a laugh against his hand, a smile quickly spreading over his lips as he kept listening.  
  
“Your goddamn ass is not lubed enough for you to be riding my dick like this, Marluxia….if you wanted this health pack you should have thought about not being shit and hiding before getting shot...you can say my mom is a good fuck, but joke’s on you, I have two dads, so I guess you like fucking ass, gay.”  
  
Ventus shook his head and snickered quietly. He needed to stop eavesdropping and just get this done with. He tried knocking again but like before there was no reply. It could be that Vanitas had his headphones on if he was talking to other people, and usually, that would make it kind of hard to hear anything else around you. It was impossible to get Roxas to reply to him when he was playing games with his big headphones on.  
  
Ventus was at lost of what to do, he stood there, looking around him as if he could find a solution in the hallway. He could just do what he always did with Roxas. He swallowed the lump in his throat and with a bit of hesitation he reached for the doorknob. He twisted it open and pushed the door just enough so he could speak through it.  
  
“Vanitas?” Ventus called, not noticing how his voice was trembling just by saying the other boy’s name.  
  
Ventus got no reply again.  
  
“Man, this new patch can suck my dick and go to hell. I’m so over my favorite weapons getting nerfed…”  
  
That was definitely not a reply to Ventus.  
  
“Vanitas!” Ventus said louder this time but all he could hear was the noises coming from Vanitas’ headphones.  
  
Ventus pushed the door open a bit further. He was trying to get Vanitas’ attention by just getting noticed but it wasn’t happening. He peeked inside the room, looking around the oddly, neat and organized room. Ventus wasn’t expecting this at all, probably because of how Sora’s room usually looked. It wasn’t like Sora was a messy person per say but he wasn’t exactly neat either. Vanitas’ room, however, looked spotless. The bed was made, his floor was free of clutter and clothes, and there weren’t any empty food containers anywhere. The room was also pretty different from Sora’s, for one it was bigger and while Sora’s room was very colorful, Vanitas’ room was very monochromatic, with just different shades of grey, black and white.  
  
The only color Ventus could spot came from the huge, red, glowing computer that was sitting on top of a very long, black desk. Vanitas was sitting there, with a chair that was big enough to almost hide his whole body. He was quickly moving his mouse around and the loud keys from his keyboard could be heard tapping away constantly. The desk had a microphone hanging from a stand near his dual-monitors, which had his headphones plugged into.  
  
Ventus was a bit intimidated by the whole set up. He had never been very into computers himself, mostly owning laptops and such, but his brother, on the other hand, loved to talk about how he was fixing up his computer and adding new things to it. Roxas would probably love being in Vanitas’ room.  
  
It was how Ventus got his next idea. Usually, whenever Roxas was playing games and he couldn’t get his attention, he would gently tap his headphones to get him to notice him, or turn his lights on and off, except he had no idea where Vanitas’ lightswitch was. It only left him with one option.  
  
Ventus slowly took a step inside the room, his eyes quickly looking around and noticing the different artwork on the walls or the few musical instruments that were shoved on a corner. He kept letting his eyes roam around the room until he was standing near Vanitas’ desk. He slowly moved to the right and tried to reach to tap Vanitas’ headphones just like he would Roxas’ but before he could even do it Vanitas was already turning his head around while pushing his chair to the side.  
  
“What the fuck!” Vanitas’ eyes were wide as his chair moved on the hardwood floors. The only issue was that his headphones were still on, which dragged his microphone and the stand until they got knocked over and pulled on his monitor and desktop at the same time, successfully unplugging it and making the screens go black.  
  
Ventus stood where he was, frozen, his hand still in mid-reach.  
  
Vanitas was panting quietly, his eyes still wide with shock. Ventus had obviously given him a scare and he was unable to move just as Ventus.  
  
A few seconds passed before Vanitas was finally able to take a deep breath and yank his headphones off with a glare. “What the fuck?!” He said again but this time he was directly looking at Ventus.  
  
Ventus snapped out of it and he quickly pulled his hand back. He was nervously looking around not knowing what to say now. “U-uh, Sora...Sora wanted me to tell you that, um…” He was too damn nervous. He usually never froze up like this! What the hell was wrong with him.  
  
Ventus felt Vanitas glare and he couldn’t help himself but to look at him before flinching and quickly looking down, noticing how Vanitas was wearing nothing but a black tanktop, basketball shorts, and very furry boots, That didn’t...add up.  
  
“Are those Uggs?” Ventus asked before he could even stop himself. He couldn’t look away from the fuzzy black, boots that had ribbons poking from behind.  
  
“Sora thought he was going to be hilarious one Christmas and fuck around with me. Jokes on him, he’s down two hundred dollars and my feet don’t get cold anymore,” Vanitas answered without missing a beat before taking a step forward. “Now, what are you doing in my room?”  
  
Ventus wasn’t even given the chance to answer when he started laughing. How could Vanitas expect him to answer his question when had just thrown the boots story at him. It was as if a weight was being lifted from his shoulders and the nervous feeling in his stomach was slowly disappearing.  
  
“I-I’m sorry,” Ventus said in between giggles. “I was trying to knock and get your attention but uh, I think your game was too loud,”  
  
“And why were you trying to get my attention to begin with? Or why be in my room at all?” Vanitas crossed his arms over his shoulders, raising one of his brows.  
  
Ventus smiled nervously and started to fidget with the box of fruit roll-ups. “Well, I wanted to talk to you, uh...you see, Sora thinks I’m trying to say sorry for what happened during the summer and I’m honestly sorry about that still! But, I wanted to say sorry for something else.”  
  
Ventus coughed quietly and looked at Vanitas again, straight in the eyes. “I wanted to say sorry for what happened in high school, I think you still remember and I never really explained myself for it but like, I wasn’t trying to like, check you out, well, yeah, but no, like listen. Hear me out, please. I was confused back then, and I didn’t know how to fix it or handle what was going on with me. I think that made me come off as creepy and I get that, but I never really wanted to like creep you out and stuff. I swear!”  
  
Ventus took a step forward and then hurriedly shoved the box of candy on Vanitas’ hands. He could feel his face heating up and he wasn’t sure why, but he had done it. He did it. The first step in his new life.  
  
“I’m sorry for staring at you and uh, I hope you don’t think badly of me anymore!” Ventus nodded and gave a weak smile as he rushed to the door. He was already halfway down the hallway when he quickly rushed back. “And Sora said he ordered pizza and you should come to eat downstairs!”  
  
Vanitas was left in his room with a box of fruit roll-ups in his hands and a confused look on his face.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
“We got it all in our hands now, so, can you handle what we're all about?” Sora sang as he walked and half slipped on the hardwood floors with his socks. “We're so tough, not scared to show you up. Can you feel the rush noooow?” He danced lazily as he walked into the kitchen and went straight to the fridge, ignoring the eyes that were staring at him. “We go hard, 'till we get it, get it. We go hard, we so in it, in it. We Pop-Stars, only winning, winning now, ain’t nobody bringing us down, doooown, down!”  
  
Sora grabbed the large bottle of juice and closed the door behind him before turning around just to half scream when Vanitas stared back at him with an unamused look on his face and a spoon full of cereal near his mouth.  
  
“Say something!” Sora screamed and put his hand on his chest to feel his heart beating against his ribs. “Don’t scare me like that.”  
  
“Sorry, I didn’t wanna interrupt you weebing out,” Vanitas smirked and took another spoonful of cereal.  
  
“It’s four in the morning, why are you eating?” Sora grabbed a cup from the drying rack and poured himself some juice.  
  
“Same reason why you’re singing as if people’s ears can’t bleed from your voice,”  
  
“Which is?”  
  
“None of your business,” Vanitas rolled his eyes, eating another spoonful of cereal.  
  
Sora just pouted in return and took a sip from his juice. “Whatever, have fun eating cereal on your own, by yourself, alone,” He huffed and turned around, putting the juice back in the fridge.  
  
“Hey weeb, hold on,” Vanitas called out and lazily leaned his chin against his hand.  
  
Sora turned around, giving his brother a suspicious look, wondering if Vanitas was just going to insult him one last time before he went back to his room, “Yes?”  
  
Vanitas lightly sucked on his teeth, his tongue rubbing against the inside of his lips before he sighed. “How long has your friend had a crush on me? And you better not be playing cupid again like you tried to do before.”  
  
Vanitas narrowed his eyes, still remembering the time his brother mistakenly thought he had a crush on one of the girls in junior high. He tried his best to hook them up by setting them together during group projects or having Vanita help her with whatever random shit she had going on. At some point, he even kept inviting her over just to disappear and leave the girl alone with Vanitas. The worst part of it all was that Vanitas hated that girl. She was obnoxious as hell.  
  
“Uh?” Sora gave Vanitas a confused look and tilted his head. He had no idea what his brother was talking about.  
  
Vanitas narrowed his eyes, not really believing Sora’s confused look. He stood up and walked over with his bowl of cereal before leaning towards Sora as he got near the door, “I’m being serious, you try anything dumb and I swear to god I’m donating your hamster farm to science.”  
  
Sora winced but overall just looked lost and confused. He had no idea what Vanitas was talking about, even when his brother left and he was alone, he still couldn’t figure it out. It wasn’t until the gears in his head slowly started to move that he somehow figured it out. He could remember Ventus running downstairs with a blush on his face and acting really awkward after he came back from Vanitas’ room.  
  
The look of relief and also the smile on Ventus’ face was different, not to mention the blush.  
  
Sora’s mind went at full speed and he gasped at his sudden realization. Ventus totally confessed to his brother! That’s why he wanted to talk to Vanitas, that sly fox, he had them all fooled. He quickly ran up the stairs, almost tripping on his own feet before throwing himself against his door to get inside his room faster and reach for his phone.  
  
Sora ignored whatever Riku and he had been texting about previously.  
  


_ ‘Riku! RIIIKUUUU, RIKU! DID YOU KNOW  _

_ THAT VENTUS LIKES VANITAS??? ∑(ﾟﾛﾟ〃)’  _

  
  


_ ‘Wait what?’ _

  
  


_ ‘YES! HE PLAYED US,  _

_ HE TOTALLY WANTED TO CONFESS TO MY BROTHER!’  _

  
  


_ ‘Well, he did always acted a bit weird around Vanitas’ _

_ I always thought it was because he had a crush on him _

_ But I never said anything.’ _

  
  


_ ‘OMG!!! SO U KNEW AND U NEVER TOLD ME?’ _

  
  


_ ‘I mean I didn’t know anything. I was just guessing.’  _

  
  
  
  
It was the final confirmation Sora needed. If Riku was agreeing then that meant it had to be true. He giggled quietly and quickly looked through his contacts. This was cute, too cute. He needed to tell Xion and drag her into this. There was no way he wasn’t going to try to make this work. Vanitas’ warning lightly echoed in the back of his head but he ignored it, choosing to instead make a new group chat.

 

* * *

  
  
  
Vanitas slipped his headphones back on and put his bowl of cereal down. He moved his mouse around and joined the open call in his server and immediately he was attacked by Larxene’s maniac laughter.  
  
“I’m guessing you guys are winning,” Vanitas said as he waited for the game on his screen to load.  
  
“Ohhhh! Vanivani, did you wake up from your nappynappy?” Larxene cackled.  
  
“Shut up, I can hear your ugly through my damn headset,” Vanitas said and leaned back against his chair with his bowl of cereal. “Tell me when you are done with your game and throw an invite.”  
  
“Sure!” Marluxia answered this time. “Oh, what happened earlier by the way? You never explained why you left.”  
  
“Oh right, you just stopped moving so I blew you up before the enemy could. It was the least I could do,” Larxene said with a mocking caring tone.  
  
“Eh, one of my brother’s friends came into my room and for some reason, my PC picked that time to reboot,” There was no way in hell Vanitas was going to tell them what really happened. He was never going to hear the end of it from either one of them. “Long story short, I thought he was going to confess to me by the way he was acting, but I think he chickened out and just said he was sorry for bluntly staring at me through the past...four or so years?”  
  
“Ohhh, sounds like you have got an admirer that is as freaky as you are. Kinky,” Larxene laughed again.  
  
“Shut up, unlike you, I don’t think about fucking 24/7,”  
  
“Hey, there’s plenty of girls in the sea and I’m just a fine shark trying to eat them up,”  
  
“Gross,” Marluxia sighed.  
  
“You’re just saying that ‘cause you like cock, we can’t all like meaty sausages and balls, some of us like refined dishes,” Larxene dragged the last word with a light purr.  
  
“Yeah, tacos sure as fuck are refined,” Vanitas snorted.  
  
“I don’t need to hear from you either you sandwich eater,” Larxene added right after.  
  
“Was he at least cute,” Marluxia was, of course, the only one that would ask that question.  
  
Vanitas had to stop and think about it for a second. Ventus wasn’t unattractive, Vanitas just never really thought of him that way. He spoke to him a few times and he always acted a bit shy and awkward around him, and during high school, he wouldn’t stop staring at Vanitas which was the reason why he started to call him a creep. It was mostly his way of telling Ventus to knock it off, he never really meant for it to be taken seriously but by Ventus reaction, he probably took it to heart.  
  
“I mean, I guess,” Vanitas finally answered with a shrug.  
  
“He took too long, the guy is definitely cute,” Larxene knew Vanitas too well to let his small pauses slip through her fingers.  
  
“Well then, good luck,” Marluxia chuckled as he invited Vanitas to join their game.  
  
Vanitas didn’t say anything else. He just accepted the invite as he leaned back against his chair. Now all he could think about was Marluxia’s question.  
  
Was Ventus cute?  
  
Vanitas sank against his chair as he huffed quietly, well yeah...he was cute.    
  
  
  
  



End file.
